The Magic of Art Therapy

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

-Pablo Picasso

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the ‘deer in the headlights’ look from clients when I say that I am an Art Therapist. It is a look I know very, very well. People panic, and once the initial shock has worn off, many say “I can’t draw”, or “I’m not artistic”, and, sometimes, the door to using Art Therapy as a part of treatment is closed.

Therapy is intimidating. Art Therapy can feel even more intimidating because it’s something most people haven’t done before and may not even know what it is about. It’s something I’m extremely passionate about and feel can benefit everyone.

The Therapeutic Power of Creative Expression

Art and creativity have been used for communication, spiritual, and therapeutic purposes for thousands of years. As children, before we even learned to write, we learned to draw. It is an innate language and capability we all possess, and Art Therapy helps to reconnect with that.

Art Therapy is an integrative mental health profession that combines psychological theory with the use of art media and the creative process to bring about therapeutic change and healing. It has the ability to engage the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are not possible through verbal expression alone.

With traditional talk therapy (what most people think of when thinking of therapy), talking is the sole means of expression. This can be very limiting, as we’re only able to really work with what we’re consciously aware of. Also, as most of us are most comfortable with verbal expression, we can very easily get caught up in habitual patterns of thinking which don’t allow for new perspectives to enter. With Art Therapy, talking is typically a large part of most sessions; however, we have the additional means of expression through images. This helps tap into our emotional and intuitive side much more easily for emotional processing and releasing, and also allows us to literally see things from a different perspective.

Making Magic

The shifts I see and the connections clients make through Art Therapy at times feel like magic. Imagery can spark insight, thoughts, and meaning in truly unexpected and wonderful ways. So many sessions I’ve left thinking, “There’s no way we would have gotten there through talking alone”. And it’s true.

Research demonstrates the benefits of Art Therapy again and again, but these are the reasons why I am enchanted by the field of Art Therapy.

It makes the invisible visible. Through image making you can give form, give life, to what you are experiencing internally. You can actually see how you’re feeling. It provides you with a tangible object representing what you’ve been processing and working through.

It makes the unconscious conscious. Things we weren’t fully aware of are brought into awareness and integrated through creating and interacting with imagery.

Your artwork is an extension and reflection of yourself. It acts as a mirror. I am always truly in awe whenever a client creates anything. Anything. A simple line on a piece of paper. Because in that moment I am seeing a piece of them, and it’s incredible to behold. It saddens me when clients only see how their artwork may not live up to some expectation they have, and not how truly amazing it is that they just created something out of nothing and made an internal part of themselves visible. Again, magic.

It allows you to process and release your emotions. Imagery holds immense healing power, and when we create and witness our imagery, it allows for integration and release of what we’re holding onto.

It gives us space from our emotions. Externalizing our emotions gives us literal space from them and allows us to examine them from a new perspective. Our artwork can also contain difficult emotions. Feeling stressed? Create an image of that in your journal, then close the journal and step away, and come back to it when you’re ready. Creating an image of how we’re feeling can feel safer than speaking or even writing about it.

No words are needed. Maybe it's difficult for you to express yourself through words. The cool thing about art is that no words are necessary, and you can still express and release things that you have no words for. No explanation needed.

It allows you to make meaning of your experiences. A common struggle with nearly all of my clients is that they don’t understand why they are feeling the way they do and what that actually means in terms of their lives. Making imagery about our experiences is a form of metaphor, and through metaphor we develop meaning. Also, it is meaning YOU give to your art, not the Art Therapist.

It gets your body involved. The interaction with art materials alone engages the body. You can also explore how a feeling feels through movement, direction, and pressure applied to the materials. It is also a sensory experience, whether it is the smell of crayons, the feeling of clay on your fingers, the appreciation of a color, or the sound of a paintbrush on paper. It gets you out of your head and into your body.

It can be a spiritual experience. Spiritualty is when we connect with something beyond ourselves. Through art making you not only connect with yourself, but with the energy of creativity, your image, and your therapist.

It is a portal to your inner world. It allows you to understand and explore yourself on a much deeper level. You gain insight into you how you relate to yourself and the world around you.

It gives you a sense of control and creates order out of chaos. You get to choose your materials and how you express them.

It teaches you to cultivate curiosity. Exploring the meaning of the marks and images you create and what they may mean teaches your mind to be open and curious about what is unfolding without judgment. And guess what? This skill translates to other areas of your life as well.

It reacquaints you with your innate creativity. Everyone is born creative; it is an innate energy we all possess. Picasso said it best: “All children are born artists. The problem is how to remain an artist as we grow up”. You ARE creative. Reclaim that.

You relearn your body’s natural language through imagery.  Pretty soon you will start seeing the world through new eyes. Colors, shapes, and images will represent feelings; a bird to represent freedom or a deep pit to represent grief. This allows you to better understand and even articulate your inner experiences. Words are limited; images are limitless.

It teaches the value of being open to new experiences. Opening yourself to a new way of experiencing yourself and the world around you can be transformative and opens you up to new possibilities.

Things can get messy, and that’s okay. Even those who are highly skilled at using art materials cannot 100% control the materials they use. Things can, and will, get messy, and that is part of the process. It challenges perfectionism and helps you see that beauty can come from even the messiest place.

You relearn how to play. When is the last time you played? You know, did something purely for the fun of it? I bet it’s been a while. Art making allows you to simply explore and have fun with the materials. It doesn’t need to be “productive”; the process of it is enough.

It’s inclusive. Anyone can do it. Even those with physical limitations, we can find a way for you to visually express yourself.

There are no rules, and you cannot do it wrong. There are no expectations, and it is not about what the image looks like. We aren’t looking to create finished pieces of artwork; the aim is to explore and express yourself in a visual way.

You can’t fail.